A sickening feeling in the pit of Rachel’s stomach began to bloom. So far, it sounded as if they’d all been drugged. And at least in Becca and Katelyn’s case, by a female. But how could one girl do this to another?

For several seconds, Jersey watched Katelyn, and then she fixed her eyes on the wall, uttering in a flat, monotone voice, ‘My dad is currently off in another country with his girlfriend who’s my age, so he probably doesn’t even know I’m missing.’ A humorless laugh pushed past her lips. ‘My mom’s horrible in a crisis. There’s always my cousin, Sophie, but she’s probably still mad at me.’ Suddenly, she sat up straighter. ‘But my friend, Holly – her mom’s a detective.’ Her hands shook, and her voice trembled as she looked around the room. ‘Holly’s mom – she’ll be looking for us!’

The energy changed in the room at Jersey’s proclamation. ‘How…’ Rachel’s words were drowned out by what sounded like dozens of hammers pounding on the walls.

Instantly, the hope of seconds before crashed, replaced once again by the nauseating fear of the unknown.

‘What do you think they’re doing up there?’ Jersey asked the one dreaded question none of them wanted to ask, much less receive an answer to.

As usual, it was Faye who cut to the chase, shattering anyone who was foolish enough to dream they’d escape unscathed from whatever was taking place upstairs. ‘It doesn’t matter how any of us ended up here, just like it doesn’t do us a damn bit of good to wonder what’s happening because whether we want to or not, we’ll find out soon enough.’

Katelyn huddled into the corner of her mattress, shivering, a low keening moan vibrating from the back of her throat at Faye’s words. Becca moved to the young girl’s side, running her hand over the other girl’s hair. Rachel joined her, leaning her head against Katelyn’s. As she wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder, she was struck again with how tiny she was, in everything from her face to her feet.

Unaware she was even doing it, Rachel rocked Katelyn back and forth, a lump forming in her throat as she did, knowing how viciously the innocence would be ripped from her life. ‘She’s too young. God, she’ll never survive this.’ Her words began as a murmur, but before long, they tumbled out like a chant.

Under her breath but still audible, Faye muttered, ‘God’s not listening, or haven’t you noticed that yet?’

‘We have to do something,’ Rachel choked out, at the same time thinking this, too, was new to her: putting someone else’s needs above her own. Her brother, Nick, would be proud of her, if only he knew.

Jersey spoke again, but this time her words held a note of urgency, despite the hushed whisper of them. ‘The window.’ All eyes swiveled upward. ‘If we make a pyramid, like in cheerleading, we can try to pry the window open. And then Katelyn can squeeze through. She’s tiny enough. She’ll fit. And if she escapes, she can run for help for the rest of us.’